Pain in the shins, knees, or hips is often caused by lateral (oblique) forces that put stress on joints and soft tissues. One common cause is excessive crossover in a runner’s stride, where the feet cross the midline of the body more than they should. This issue typically stems from instability, weak hip abductors, and\/or overly tight inner thigh (groin) muscles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ideally, your stride should show minimal crossover, no more than 0\u20132 cm. That means your right inner ankle bone (medial malleolus) shouldn’t pass more than 2 cm over the path of your left ankle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the example shown, the left foot crosses nearly 2 inches past where the right ankle tracked\u2014a clear case of excessive medial crossover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This kind of movement puts the ankle, knee, and hip joints at sharper angles than they\u2019re built to handle. As a result, it increases the risk of strain, inflammation, and soft tissue overload throughout the kinetic chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to Fix Excessive Crossover<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 1: Improve flexibility<\/strong> Step 2: Strengthen hip abductors<\/strong> Step 3: Practice wide-step running<\/strong> Pain in the shins, knees, or hips is often caused by lateral (oblique) forces that put stress on joints and soft tissues. One common cause is excessive crossover in a runner’s stride, where the feet cross the midline of the body more than they should. This issue typically stems from instability, weak hip abductors, and\/or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2605,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Make sure your glutes, hip flexors, hamstrings, and lower back are mobile and pliable. Tightness in these areas can pull your legs inward, making it harder to maintain proper leg alignment during your stride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Incorporate exercises that target the muscles responsible for stabilizing the outer hip and pelvis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Start integrating short bursts of wider strides into your runs. Begin with 6 sets of 5 seconds and gradually build up to 6 sets of 60 seconds. The goal is to run with your feet tracking just outside of a straight line\u2014about one inch of space between each foot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"